1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel abietane diterpenoid compound and a composition for the prevention and the treatment of cardiovascular disease containing extracts of Torreya nucifera or abietane diterpenoid compounds or terpenoid compounds isolated from the same as an effective ingredient.
2. Description of Related Art
Cardiovascular diseases including atherosclerosis increase gradually as adult disease is growing. Atherosclerosis frequently occurs in cerebral artery or in coronary artery. Cerebral atherosclerosis carries headache, dizziness and mental disorder, and is a cause of cerebral infraction. Coronary arteriosclerosis causes pain and arrhythmia in the heart, leading to angina pectoris or myocardial infraction. Such diseases further cause hypertension, heart disease, cerebral hemorrhage, etc, making atherosclerosis related diseases the leading cause of death of men at the age of 50˜60 s.
High blood cholesterol causes coronary cardiovascular diseases. In order to reduce blood cholesterol, inhibition of enzyme involved in lipid metabolism or a dietary treatment designed to limit the intake of cholesterol and lipid has to be enforced.
For the purpose of preventing such diseases, attempts have been made to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) by inhibiting cholesterol absorption and biosynthesis thereof (Principles in Biochemistry, lipid biosynthesis, 770-817, 3rd Edition, 2000 Worth Publishers, New York; Steinberg, D. et al. N. Engl. J. Med, 320: 915-924, 1989).
The production of LDL oxide in blood has been the subject of study since it is regarded as the cause of atherosclerosis (Circulation, 91: 2488-2496, 1995; Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., 17: 3338-3346, 1997). In particular, a recent report saying that the production of foam cells is resulted from the inflow of HM-LDL (highly modified LDL), generated by peroxidation and structural transformation of LDL, into macrophages triggered the study on the mechanism of the production and elimination of LDL peroxide (Curr. Atheroscler. Res., 2: 363-372, 2000).
Plague formation and breakage in inside of vascular wall lead to myocardial infraction, and chronic inflammation on vascular wall by the damage of it results in atherosclerosis, which is believed to be a rather defense mechanism than damage mechanism (Circ. Res. 89: 298-304, 2001).
Acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) is an enzyme that esterifies cholesterol and its working mechanism is in act in three regions of body (intestine, liver and vascular wall cells).
First, ACAT esterifies cholesterol and then helps the absorption of cholesterol in intestines. Second, cholesterol which is taken in from outside or produced in inside of body is accumulated in a carrier named VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein) in the liver, which is then provided to each organ of body through blood vessels. At this time, cholesterol is converted into cholesteryl ester by ACAT, enabling the accumulation of cholesterol in a carrier. Third, ACAT esterifies cholesterol in arterial wall cells, promoting the accumulation of cholesterol in cells, which is a direct reason for atherosclerosis.
By the activity of ACAT, foam cells include a huge number of cholesterol ester that is induced from cholesterol. Thus, the formation of foam cells induced from macrophages and smooth muscle cells is very important in experimental and clinical aspects. The growth of foam cells in vascular wall is directly related to the increase of ACAT activity. Therefore, an ACAT inhibitor might be effectively used as a powerful anti-atherosclerotic agent.
Therefore, an ACAT activity inhibitor has to and is expected to (1) reduce cholesterol taken in by inhibiting the absorption of cholesterol in intestines, (2) reduce blood cholesterol by inhibiting the release of cholesterol into blood vessels and (3) prevent atherosclerosis by inhibiting the accumulation of cholesterol in vascular wall cells.
All the ACAT activity inhibitors reported as of today are the inhibitors of the activity of mouse liver microsomal ACAT or mouse liver macrophage (J774) ACAT. Human ACAT is divided into two types; ACAT-1 and ACAT-2. Human ACAT-1 (50 kDa) works largely in the liver, adrenal gland, macrophage and kidney of an adult, and human ACAT-2 (46 kDa) works in the small intestine (Rudel, L. L. et al., Curr. Opin. Lipidol. 12: 121-127, 2001). The inhibition of ACAT activity has been a useful strategy for the prevention and the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, cholesterol gallstones or atherosclerosis owing to its mechanisms of inhibiting the absorption of cholesterol taken in from food and inhibiting the accumulation of cholesteryl ester in vascular wall (Buhman, K. K. et al., Nature Med. 6: 1341-1347, 2000).
Probucol, N,N′-diphenylenediamine, BHA (butylatedhydroxyanisol) and BHT (butylated hydroxy toluene), synthetic phenols used as anti-oxidatant agents, that have been used for the treatment of hyperlipidemia, reduce LDL cholesterol, weaken LDL-oxidation and reduce the lesion formation, showing excellent anti-oxidative activity but carrying serious side effects, so that they are limited in use.
Therefore, the treatment of patients with hyperlipidemia or atherosclerosis with a LDL anti-oxidative agent together with a lipid lowering agent is promising.
In the meantime, T. nucifera is a kind of evergreen needle-leaf tall tree belonging to Taxaceae, which is only distributed in Korea and Japan. T. nucifera is an edible, ornamental, medicinal and industrial plant. Its seeds have been eaten or produced as oil. And, its fruits have been used for the treatment of extermination, hair-regrowth, stomach-strengthening, and intestinal hemorrhage, especially in Chineses medicine and folk remedies, and the wood itself has been used for construction, making facilities and making ship. Ingredients of T. nucifera, separated from its leaves and seeds, are sesquiterpenoids (Sakai, T. et al., Bull. Chem. Soc. Japan, 38: 381, 1965), labdanes, abietanes including diterpenoids (Sayama, Y. et al, Agric. Bio. Chem., 35: 1068, 1971; Harrison, L. and Asakawa, Y., Phytochemistry, 26: 1211, 1987) and flavonoids (Ahmad, I. et. al., Phytochemistry, 20: 1169, 1981), etc.
The present inventors have searched a novel therapeutic agent for hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis with less side effects, from natural resources. And the present inventors have completed this invention by confirming that T. nucifera extracts or abietane diterpenoid compounds or terpenoid compounds isolated from the same has excellent anti-oxidative activity to LDL and inhibiting activity to ACAT enzyme as well.